After
by Galadriel1010
Summary: After, it's time to pick up the pieces. Jack's on the valiant waiting to go home, and there's something that belongs to him that he never thought he'd see again.
1. Chapter 1

Author's note: OK I got attacked by bunnies, but decided to develop it properly as IWL is sort of flowing (I'm not sure I understand the logic either). It's the usual post LOTTL fic, my version of Jack's return with a Doctor who actually has a clue

Just for clarification, this chapter's set on the Valiant after time was reset but before Jack returns to Cardiff and the next one is set after he returned to Cardiff but before he was reunited with the team

* * *

Jack stood at the window, gazing down at the world he'd fought for so long to protect and feeling completely defenceless. Pain and fear and helplessness swept through him, casting aside the barriers he'd built over the last year to keep himself safe. A quiet presence behind him steadied him and he looked up to meet the eyes of the reflection beside his, but once he realised who it was he looked away hurriedly, "Hey Doc."

"Hey yourself." The Doctor smiled; he was holding something in front of him, but it was impossible to tell what in the reflection, "I found your coat."

He stiffened suddenly and turned slowly to look at the coat in the Doctor's hands. The Time Lord was shocked to see tears in his old friend's eyes as he reached out a tentative hand towards it, "He was buried in it." Jack's voice was barely more than a whisper as the first tears escaped to roll down his cheeks.

"And now he's not." He pointed out gently, proffering the coat again and feeling his heart break when Jack took it with such fear.

"He's alive?" for the first time since the young man had been executed in front of him, hope lit in the immortal's eyes.

On impulse, the Doctor pulled him into a hug, then sank with him to the ground, holding him as he cried out the pain of that year. It was an hour or more before he finished, and not a word passed between them or anyone else. Finally, Jack pulled away, stood up and put his coat on before offering his hand to help the Time Lord to his feet. The Doctor leant on the window to watch him with a half smile. "You know Jack, you're alright."

"What happened to 'all wrong'?" he asked, voice devoid of bitterness but full of fear

"I think it was me that was wrong in this instance. And that's not something you'll get me to admit often."

Jack straightened his collar and couldn't meet his eyes, "No, you were right. I'm wrong, not supposed to be. I will always be wrong."

"Jack…" the captain flinched when the Doctor laid a reassuring hand on his arm, and the alien was extremely grateful that his friend had someone and something to return to, "Jack, have you considered that maybe this was mean to happen?"

"I thought that maybe it was for a purpose, so that I could defend Earth against Abaddon. But I woke up again."

"Do you regret it, did you regret waking up?"

"With Ianto waiting for me, how could I?" he asked with his first smile, "But what will happen when he isn't?"

"You'll find a way Jack. I've met a lot of heroes in my time, but you will always be the greatest of them." He paused, "Do you remember the first thing I said to you on the TARDIS?"

"Over a hundred years ago Doc, things get a bit faded after that point."

"You said, 'it's bigger in the inside', which was a strange thing to say as you hadn't really seen the outside."

"I could see the back of my ship behind it and the sides around it."

"Whatever. I said 'you'd better be'." He squeezed his arm with a smile, "You are, you're the biggest man I've ever met. And the biggest flirt."

"You've clearly never met my ex then." He smiled back, "Thanks"

"My pleasure. Now come on, we've got to get you back to that Welshman of yours."

"He's in the Himalayas." The Captain pointed out ruefully

"Well than, I'll take you forwards, say… three weeks? He'll be back by then."


	2. Chapter 2

Martha and the Doctor helped him to carry some things down into the Hub on the invisible lift. The Doctor had laughed when he saw what Jack had used the perception filter for, and admitted that he was very glad that it was Jack in charge.

As the lift descended, their eyes widened at the sight of the Hub. "Bloody hell Jack, you've got a proper underground base." Martha breathed

The Doctor pulled out his brainy specs and watched Myfanwy as she flew down to meet them, "You've got a Pteranadon!"

Jack looked at him askance, "No one ever gets that right, even Ianto got it wrong."

"Yeah, well I'm brilliant, aren't I? Where's this team of yours then?"

Jack looked around as the lift reached the floor and shifted the gun on his shoulder, "Probably off saving the world, if they're back."

"Do you really need to take that Jack?" he glared at the gun

"You never know, I hope I'll never have to use it but… How did you end up with it anyway?"

"You left it behind when we went off to fight them."

"Who knows? If I'd thought to take it, maybe we wouldn't be here." He slung the gun onto the sofa and headed up to his office to put the clothes and trinkets he'd got from the TARDIS into his bunker for the moment. When he got up there he stopped in shock at the sight of the mug on his desk, it was full of cold coffee, but it was his mug. Ianto hadn't stopped making him coffee when he abandoned them, abandoned him.

He sank into his chair in shock, the full year he'd been gone finally sinking in as he allowed himself to really miss his lover's presence. Tears flowed freely again, even though he'd thought he didn't have any more to shed. For Ianto though he was prepared to cry. He looked around his office, studying the small changes that had happened (like the lack of paperwork) and his eyes lighted on the calendar on the wall. It was the wrong picture; it shouldn't have been showing that for two months… And Ianto had crossed every day off, so he knew that he'd been gone for three months. Choking back a sob he went to stand at the door and watched the Doctor and Martha studying a piece of alien tech he didn't recognise with interest. "Doctor, it's been three months, not three weeks."

"Oh Jack…" he ran his hand through his hair and looked horrified, "Jack I'm sorry. Can we go back and put you in the right place?"

He shook his head, "I've not been here. For a start I've not drunk the coffee."

"What coffee?" Martha asked gently, aware of how close Jack was to tears

They spilled over, "He made me coffee, even though I've not been here for three months he's still making me coffee." Martha ran up the stairs to hug him as he broke down again, "I can't do this, I'm not ready."

"OK, come on, back to the TARDIS." She suggested and she held him, "We'll take it from there."

He shook his head, "I'm staying here, I have to see them all again. I have to know they're OK. Besides, if they see my stuff in my office they'll think I've run off without seeing them again."

"Well they're not here at the moment, so we can get some fresh air at least, yeah?"

* * *

They watched him walk away again to find his team and laughed in shock at the bombshell. "It can't be, can it?" Martha asked in shock

"I don't know." He laughed, "He's impossible, so anything's possible."

"Will he be OK?" she became suddenly serious as he vanished around the water tower, heading for the main entrance, "After everything we've seen, everything that happened to him, will he cope?"

"He's strong, he'll cope. Jack bounces, bounces back from death, and bounces when anything hits him. He'll be fine, but we'll keep an eye on him, just in case…" he smiled, "Honestly though, he won't need it. The only thing he'll need us for is if aliens invade or the rift opens and he can't deal with it. Not that that's likely to happen. Him not being able to deal with it I mean."

She smiled at him, "And you've always got someone to turn to."

"Yeah, in Cardiff of all places. Come on, the stars are calling."


End file.
